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<div class="title"> Module Documentation: eml-entity</div>
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<div class="sectiontitle">
              The eml-entity module - Entity level information within datasets
            </div>
            
<p>
              The eml-entity module defines the logical characteristics of
              each entity in the dataset. Entities are usually tables of
              data (eml-dataTable). Data tables may be ascii text files,
              relational database tables, spreadsheets or other type of
              tabular data with a fixed logical structure. Related to data
              tables are views (eml-view) and stored
              procedures (eml-storedProcedure). Views and stored procedures
              are produced by an RDBMS or related system. Other types of data
              such as: raster (eml-spatialRaster), vector (eml-spatialVector) or
              spatialReference image data are also data entities. An
              otherEntity element would be used to describe types of entities
              that are not described by any other entity type.
            </p>
            
<p>
              The eml-entity module, like other modules, may be
              "referenced" via the &lt;references&gt; tag.  This
              allows an entity document to be described once, and then
              used as a reference in other locations within the EML document
              via its ID.
            </p>
          
        
<div class="title">Module details</div>
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<td class="tablepanel"> Recommended Usage: </td><td class="tablepanel">This module is used to describe data entities.</td>
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<td class="tablepanel"> Stand-alone: </td><td class="tablepanel">Only when 'otherEntity' is used.</td>
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<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"> Imports: </td><td class="tablepanel">eml-documentation, eml-coverage, eml-physical, eml-methods, eml-attribute, eml-resource, eml-constraint, eml-text</td>
</tr>
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<td class="tablepanel"> Imported By: </td><td class="tablepanel"></td>
</tr>
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<td class="tablepanel"> View an image of the schema: </td><td class="tablepanel"><a href="eml-entity.png" target="offline">eml-entity image</a></td>
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<h2>Element Definitions:</h2>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="otherEntity">otherEntity&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="#OtherEntityType">OtherEntityType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>The other entity element is a descriptor of a
        not-otherwise-defined entity in the dataset, identified by its name.
        The element can contain information about the entity's basic identity,
        its temporal, geographic and taxonomic coverage, and its
        type.<br>
<span class="boldtext">Example(s): </span>
<br>Photograph of rocky intertidal plot 12 from Santa Cruz
        Island<br>
</blockquote>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="attributeList">attributeList&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-attribute.html#AttributeListType">att:AttributeListType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>The list of attributes associated with this
                entity.  For more information see the eml-attribute
                module.</blockquote>
</td>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="constraint">constraint&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-constraint.html#ConstraintType">con:ConstraintType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>Description of any relational constraints on '
                this entity.  For more information see the eml-constraint
                module.</blockquote>
</td>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="entityType">entityType&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-resource.html#NonEmptyStringType">res:NonEmptyStringType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>The entityType field contains the name of the
                entity's type. The entity's type is typically the name of the
                type of data represented in the entity, such as "photograph".
                This field is used only if this is an 'other' entity and you
                want to specify the kind of "other" entity this
                is.<br>
<span class="boldtext">Example(s): </span>
<br>Photograph<br>
</blockquote>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="alternateIdentifier">alternateIdentifier&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Attributes: </span></td><td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Use: </span></td><td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Default Value: </span></td>
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<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#system">system</a></td><td class="tablepanel"><span class="plaintext">optional</span></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>An additional, secondary identifier for this
            entity. The primary identifier belongs in the "id" attribute, but
            additional identifiers that are used to label this entity, possibly
            from different data management systems, can be listed
            here.<br>
<span class="boldtext">Example(s): </span>
<br>VCR3465<br>
</blockquote>
</td>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="entityName">entityName&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-resource.html#NonEmptyStringType">res:NonEmptyStringType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>The name identifies the entity in the dataset:
            file name, name of database table, etc.<br>
<span class="boldtext">Example(s): </span>
<br>SpeciesAbundance1996<br>
</blockquote>
</td>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="entityDescription">entityDescription&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-resource.html#NonEmptyStringType">res:NonEmptyStringType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>Text generally describing the entity, its type,
            and relevant information about the data in the
            entity.<br>
<span class="boldtext">Example(s): </span>
<br>Species abundance data for 1996 at the VCR LTER
            site<br>
</blockquote>
</td>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="physical">physical&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
</tr>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-physical.html#PhysicalType">phys:PhysicalType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>Information on the physical format of this entity.
            Each logical entity can be serialized in one or more physical
            formats, which can be described here.  For each physical format,
            provide a "physical" element that describes the format and how
            to obtain that version.  Two physical elements MUST describe
            the same entity precisely (i.e., after obtaining and parsing
            the physical data stream described under each physical element,
            one MUST end with an identical logical entity).
            For more information see the eml-physical module.</blockquote>
</td>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="coverage">coverage&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
</tr>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-coverage.html#Coverage">cov:Coverage</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>Information on the geographic, spatial and temporal
            coverages used in this entity.  Please see the eml-coverage module
            for more information.</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="methods">methods&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-methods.html#MethodsType">md:MethodsType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>Information on the specific methods used to collect
            information in this entity.  Please see the eml-methods module for
            more information.<br>
<span class="boldtext">Example(s): </span>
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
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<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="additionalInfo">additionalInfo&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">This element has no default value.</td>
</tr>
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<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext">Type: </span><a class="sitelink" href="eml-text.html#TextType">txt:TextType</a></td>
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</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>This field provides any information that is not
            characterized by the other entity metadata
            fields.<br>
<span class="boldtext">Example(s): </span>
<br>Multiple sampling events represented<br>
</blockquote>
</td>
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<td colspan="2">
<h2>Attribute Definitions:</h2>
</td>
</tr>
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<td colspan="2" class="tablehead"><a class="sitelink" name="id">id</a></td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Type: </span><span class="plaintext"><a class="sitelink" href="eml-resource.html#IDType">res:IDType</a></span>
</p>
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Use: </span><span class="plaintext">optional</span>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
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<td colspan="2" class="tablehead"><a class="sitelink" name="system">system</a></td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Type: </span><span class="plaintext"><a class="sitelink" href="eml-resource.html#SystemType">res:SystemType</a></span>
</p>
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Use: </span><span class="plaintext">optional</span>
</p>
</td>
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<td colspan="2" class="tablehead"><a class="sitelink" name="scope">scope</a></td>
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<td class="tablepanel">
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Type: </span><span class="plaintext"><a class="sitelink" href="eml-resource.html#ScopeType">res:ScopeType</a></span>
</p>
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Use: </span><span class="plaintext">optional</span>
</p>
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Default value: </span><span class="plaintext">document</span>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
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<td colspan="2" class="tablehead"><a class="sitelink" name="system">system</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel">
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Type: </span><span class="plaintext"><a class="sitelink" href="eml-resource.html#SystemType">res:SystemType</a></span>
</p>
<p>
<span class="boldtext">Use: </span><span class="plaintext">optional</span>
</p>
</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>The information management system within
                    which this identifier has relevance. Generally, the
                    identifier would be unique within the "system" and would be
                    sufficient to retrieve the entity from the system. The
                    system is often a URL or URI that identifies the main entry
                    point for the information management
                    system.<br>
<span class="boldtext">Example(s): </span>
<br>
                    http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/knb/<br>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
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<td colspan="2">
<h2>Complex Type Definitions:</h2>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="OtherEntityType">OtherEntityType&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">
              </td>
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<tr>
<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel">
<table class="tabledefault" border="0">
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<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Elements: </span></td><td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Use: </span></td><td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> How many: </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3"> A choice of (</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3"> A sequence of (</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#EntityGroup">EntityGroup</a></td><td class="tablepanel">&nbsp;</td><td class="tablepanel">&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3"> A sequence of (</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#attributeList">attributeList</a></td><td class="tablepanel">optional</td><td class="tablepanel"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#constraint">constraint</a></td><td class="tablepanel">optional</td><td class="tablepanel">unbounded</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#entityType">entityType</a></td><td class="tablepanel">required</td><td class="tablepanel"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3">)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3">)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3"> OR </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="eml-resource.html#ReferencesGroup">res:ReferencesGroup</a></td><td class="tablepanel">&nbsp;</td><td class="tablepanel">&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3">)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Attributes: </span></td><td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Use: </span></td><td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Default Value: </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#id">id</a></td><td class="tablepanel"><span class="plaintext">optional</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#system">system</a></td><td class="tablepanel"><span class="plaintext">optional</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#scope">scope</a></td><td class="tablepanel"><span class="plaintext">optional</span></td><td class="tablepanel"><span class="plaintext">document</span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<h2>Group Definitions:</h2>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablehead" colspan="1"><a class="sitelink" name="EntityGroup">EntityGroup&nbsp; </a></td><td class="tablehead" colspan="1">
              </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="40%" class="tablepanel"> Content of this field: </td><td class="tablepanel"> Description of this field: </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel">
<table class="tabledefault" border="0">
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Elements: </span></td><td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> Use: </span></td><td class="tablepanel" valign="top"><span class="boldtext"> How many: </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3"> A sequence of (</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#alternateIdentifier">alternateIdentifier</a></td><td class="tablepanel">optional</td><td class="tablepanel">unbounded</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#entityName">entityName</a></td><td class="tablepanel">required</td><td class="tablepanel"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#entityDescription">entityDescription</a></td><td class="tablepanel">optional</td><td class="tablepanel"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#physical">physical</a></td><td class="tablepanel">optional</td><td class="tablepanel">unbounded</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#coverage">coverage</a></td><td class="tablepanel">optional</td><td class="tablepanel"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#methods">methods</a></td><td class="tablepanel">optional</td><td class="tablepanel"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel"><a class="sitelink" href="#additionalInfo">additionalInfo</a></td><td class="tablepanel">optional</td><td class="tablepanel">unbounded</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tablepanel" colspan="3">)</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td><td valign="top" class="tablepanel" colspan="1">
<blockquote>The EntityGroup defines the common structure for
        descriptions of any type of entity, including the name and attributes
        of the entity. The term entity is used in the sense of an entity in a
        relational model. The most common entity is a table, something with
        columns and rows, but can also represent an image or other type of
        data. See 'eml-attribute' for descriptions of the required attribute
        fields.</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class="contact"> Web Contact: <a href="mailto:jones@nceas.ucsb.edu">jones@nceas.ucsb.edu</a>
</p>
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